Drishti

When you are challenged, determine your focus before you begin.

Late last week I thought I felt the rumblings of plantar in my left heel. That feeling when you step out of bed and wonder who left the nail, point side up, wedged in the carpet for you to step on? Yow. Not fun. I called upon some wise friends who have accrued far more lifetime miles than I, and they told me cautionary tales about what happens to type A, rest avoidant runners who ignore the early onset signs of heel pain. One had a friend who could not run for over 2 years. Yep, that’s what I said, years.

Not an option. Not merely for the meltdown that would occur with my body. My primary concern today would be the mental, spiritual and emotional ramifications (as well as the secondary effect the fallout would have on those closest to me). It does not paint a pretty picture. So I have not run a single step since last Wednesday. I have seen two experts and I am on the mend.

As it turns out, a pair of shoes I bought in hopes of easing the burden on my crotchety right hip caused the unfortunate side effect of a problem in my calf, which hurt my heel and presented a lot like plantar fasciitis. (Kind of like If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, if you are familiar with those children’s books.)

My chiropractor is brilliant, more of a healer than anything, and he asked a very pointed question after he got down to brass tacks about my new shoes, “Why would you get shoes to mitigate the symptoms of a problem that needs solving?” Point taken.

My therapist asks me similar questions on a regular basis. So why exactly do we do that? Why do we create new problems by shortcutting the solution of old problems? It’s just a question, food for thought. There are no shortcuts to healing, whether the injuries are physical or otherwise. I believe the quicker we can accept that, the faster we can get down to the deeper and more meaningful business of real healing. The energy that our mind uses to reject and fight against the unwanted challenge can then be turned and used in a productive and focused way towards actually overcoming it.

Instead of pining over lost miles, I turned my attention towards yoga this week. It has been freezing here, so the warm room has been even more welcoming. Plus stretching my feet and calves has been exactly what I need. Yoga always gives me a pearl, and here is the one for this week. We were doing a series of balance postures, a rather challenging flow of movements standing on one leg. We started the series and our instructor could sense the struggle in the room. She asked us to stop.

“Now”, she said, “before you start again, pick a point and steady your gaze before you move.” In yoga this kind of concentrated intention or point of focus is called your Drishti. “Use your drishti to focus your power and the rest will follow.”

We did it again. And this time it was like a synchronized movement flowing through the class. We moved from posture to posture without wiggling, wavering, or falling over. It was awesome.

The lesson: when you have a challenge before you, a difficult succession of things to accomplish, determine your drishti before you begin. Will your gaze be on the difficulty itself? Will it be on God? Will it be on yourself? Will it be on your competition? Will it be on your past? Will it be on your goal, realized ahead in the distance?

I am reminded of the quote from the book The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein: “The car goes where the eyes go.”